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NCI did not say which companies will do so, but chief executive Jerry Baker "guaranteed" that systems would be available by December for $300.

Enhanced TV, like its competitor WebTV, will use a handheld remote to navigate Web pages, and a wireless keyboard to type e-mail.

Today's announcement sets up another confrontation between Oracle Corp. of Redwood Shores and Microsoft, which recently acquired Palo Alto-based WebTV for $425 million.

"Consumer electronics manufacturers believe we're at the beginning of a huge new market that will change how we watch TV," Baker said. "We want to form partnerships with them. Microsoft wants to control everything."

WebTV chief executive Steve Perlman said NCI has not yet announced firm dates when partners will ship hardware.

"What really matters is what people can buy in stores," said Perlman. "Nobody wants software demos. They want products."

Gary Arlen, a Bethesda, Md., analyst who follows interactive television, said so far the market for Internet delivered over TV is minuscule. WebTV says 120,000 people regularly use its system, which connects TV sets to the Internet though boxes built and sold by Sony and Philips.

"The NCI announcement is a beachhead for Oracle," Arlen said. "They think Internet television could be a big market, and if they don't get positioned soon, Microsoft could write the rules."

Baker said NCI has kept its software under wraps until it was perfected, and would not announce hardware shipments until its partners are ready to deliver boxes to stores.